Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (Jazz, 1959)

"But the record companies, they take music and label it - like they say "rock". Because the white singers can't sound like James Brown, they call him "soul". They've been doing that for years. That's the prejudice crap."

Miles best-selling album and the best-selling jazz record of all time. What a line-up! Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelly, Julian Adderley & Bill Evans created one of the most influential albums of all time, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence and the one that introduced me to jazz! This isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace - each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. It's the pinnacle of modal jazz - tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. You are excused for not owning this only if you were born deaf...maybe not even then.

Lets Go Get It!